A writ has been filed in the High Court seeking directions to stop cutting trees across the country including Dhaka to protect the environment.
Human rights organization Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed a writ in the relevant branch of the High Court on Sunday.
The writ petitioners on behalf of HRPB are advocates Md Sarwar Ahad Chowdhury, Md Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan and Ripon Barai.
The secretary of the Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister's Office's chief secretary, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change secretary, and the director general of Bangladesh Police have been made defendants in the writ.
According to court sources, the writ may be heard in the High Court bench comprising Justice Md Khasruzzaman and Justice KM Zahid Sarwar. Senior Advocate Manzil Murshed will be hearing on behalf of the writ.
It is claimed in the writ petition that the number of plants required for healthy living in Dhaka city is decreasing day by day. The recent increase in temperature is making the living conditions of people more miserable, violating the right to live decently.
On the other hand, cutting down the trees planted in the community forestry contracts across the country has an adverse effect on the environment. If this is not stopped, Bangladesh's environment will be damaged and people's right to live will be severely damaged.
Several directions have been sought in the writ, as follows:
- The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change shall establish a seven-member committee within seven days, comprising environmentalists, environmental scientists, and professors from the environmental science departments of Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University. The committee will be tasked with regulating tree cutting in Dhaka city, permitting it only when deemed necessary.
- Within the same timeframe, the Ministry of Public Administration will issue a circular to halt tree felling. Additionally, it will mandate the formation of a committee under the leadership of the deputy commissioner, comprising the district environment officer, government college principal, social worker, environmentalist, and District Bar Association president/secretary, as well as the civil surgeon. The committee's approval will be required before any tree cutting can occur.
- Similarly, the Ministry of Public Administration will issue a circular within seven days to halt tree cutting under the supervision of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer. This directive will establish a committee comprising the college principal, social worker, environmentalist, social welfare officer, assistant commissioner of land, and executive engineer of LGED. No tree cutting will be permitted without approval from this committee.
- Until these committees are formed, all defendants are instructed to take necessary measures to prevent tree cutting in their respective areas. They are further directed to submit a compliance report to the court within two weeks.
The writ also raises questions regarding the defendants' inaction in preventing tree felling, proposes declaring such inaction illegal, and requests the court to order a halt to tree cutting in other districts and upazila cities, including Dhaka city.
Additionally, it seeks to incorporate provisions for payment to contracting parties for tree planting in the Social Forestry Rules 2004. An application for issuing a rule has been submitted.